Water Quality Legend

Current Status

Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

Historical Status

When swimming season is over or when a beach's water quality data has not been updated frequently enough (weekly) it goes into historical status. This means that rather than displaying current data it displays the beach's average water quality for that year.

Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

Special Status

We may manually set the status for a specific beach if we have concerns about the sampling protocol, if there is an emergency, if monitoring practices don't exist or have recently changed, or other reasons that render this site "special."

Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.

See the beach description for more information regarding their special status.

Lumahai Stream mouth

Lumahai is a scenic beach on the north shore of Kauai where the Lumahai Stream drains at the far west side. This beach tends to have shore break and a strong undertoe, so make sure to watch for dangerous waves. Because the stream can be polluted, it is recommended to stay away from the stream. Lumahai does not offer any amenities, but that only adds to its rustic charm. Bring a camera!

Share

WATER QUALITY

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time

Historical Status

This status is based on the latest sample, taken on December 8th, 2018. Surfrider Foundation - Kauai Chapter updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

Lumahai Stream mouth is sampled monthly from January 1st to December 31st

SOURCE INFORMATION

Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task force is a volunteer-run, citizen science initiative and water quality monitoring program. The Kauai Surfrider Chapter samples water quality at 35 locations on a monthly basis.

The goal of Surfrider Kauai’s Blue Water Task Force is to provide water quality data to the public so that they can properly assess public health risk in determining where to enjoy our beaches and surf breaks. Data is also provided to Hawaii Department of Health and Federal EPA to assist in screening and monitoring recreational waters so that they can take action to improve public safety.
The Blue Water Task Force tests both marine and freshwater sites for enterococcus, a coliform bacteria that indicates fecal pollution. Results are compared to water quality criteria established by the EPA to protect public health in recreational waters. Test results are expressed as the Most Probable Number (MPN) of enterococcus cfu (colony forming units) per 100 mL seawater by using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 MPN Table. All water quality results are posted online for anyone to view or download at go.surfrider.org/BWTF. Monthly reports are posted in the local newspaper, broadcasted on two local radio stations, and distributed via email and on social media. Results are also sent to Hawaii Dept. of Health and regional EPA.
When a site is marked Green, they have met the recreational water quality criteria (between 0 and 130 MPN/100 mL). When marked Red, results have exceeded recreational water quality criteria (above 130 MPN/100 mL). All data can be viewed at go.surfrider.org/BWTF. Any additional questions about Kauai’s Blue Water Task Force program or our results can also be addressed to Karl Berg, cberg@pixi.com.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

CHART TYPE

Pie Bar

INTERVAL

TIME PERIOD

Lumahai Stream mouth

This status is based on the latest sample, taken on December 8th, 2018. Surfrider Foundation - Kauai Chapter updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

Lumahai is a scenic beach on the north shore of Kauai where the Lumahai Stream drains at the far west side. This beach tends to have shore break and a strong undertoe, so make sure to watch for dangerous waves. Because the stream can be polluted, it is recommended to stay away from the stream. Lumahai does not offer any amenities, but that only adds to its rustic charm. Bring a camera!

Lumahai Stream mouth is sampled monthly from January 1st to December 31st

SOURCE INFORMATION

Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task force is a volunteer-run, citizen science initiative and water quality monitoring program. The Kauai Surfrider Chapter samples water quality at 35 locations on a monthly basis.

The goal of Surfrider Kauai’s Blue Water Task Force is to provide water quality data to the public so that they can properly assess public health risk in determining where to enjoy our beaches and surf breaks. Data is also provided to Hawaii Department of Health and Federal EPA to assist in screening and monitoring recreational waters so that they can take action to improve public safety.
The Blue Water Task Force tests both marine and freshwater sites for enterococcus, a coliform bacteria that indicates fecal pollution. Results are compared to water quality criteria established by the EPA to protect public health in recreational waters. Test results are expressed as the Most Probable Number (MPN) of enterococcus cfu (colony forming units) per 100 mL seawater by using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 MPN Table. All water quality results are posted online for anyone to view or download at go.surfrider.org/BWTF. Monthly reports are posted in the local newspaper, broadcasted on two local radio stations, and distributed via email and on social media. Results are also sent to Hawaii Dept. of Health and regional EPA.
When a site is marked Green, they have met the recreational water quality criteria (between 0 and 130 MPN/100 mL). When marked Red, results have exceeded recreational water quality criteria (above 130 MPN/100 mL). All data can be viewed at go.surfrider.org/BWTF. Any additional questions about Kauai’s Blue Water Task Force program or our results can also be addressed to Karl Berg, cberg@pixi.com.

Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.
Swim Guide, "Swim Drink Fish icons," and associated trademarks are owned by SWIM DRINK FISH CANADA.| See Legal.